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London-based advertising and brand creation specialists MATTA have partnered with Skateboard England as the sport prepares to make its debut on the Olympic programme at Tokyo 2020.

Skateboarding was one of five sports added by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at its Session in August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.

Baseball and softball, karate, sport climbing and surfing were also chosen.

Tokyo 2020 is due to feature men's and women's park and street skateboarding competitions at the Aomi Urban Venue in the Japanese capital.

"We're really excited that skateboarding is going to be included in the Olympics and that MATTA have created a fantastic way for us to spread the news" James Hope-Gill, Skateboard England's chief executive, said.

"While skateboarding's Olympic inclusion was decided last August, we believe that general awareness is still quite low, so it's a great opportunity for us to celebrate the news."

"The opportunity to work with James and the Skateboard England team at this incredibly exciting time was not something we wanted to miss, and we are looking forward to seeing how skateboarding evolves as a sport between now and 2020," added Matt Campbell, executive creative director at MATTA.

There has been a large governance dispute within the sport since it was granted Olympic inclusion.

The International Roller Sports Federation (FIRS) was selected as the world governing body, rather than a specific skateboarding organisation.

This was because neither the International Skateboarding Federation (ISF)nor the World Skateboarding Federation were eligible to apply because they were not recognised by the IOC.

FIRS and the ISF are set to merge and form a new body called World Skate, with approval for the proposal required at the FIRS Congress in September.

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Fact of the day

At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Iranian judoka Arash Miresmaeili was disqualified for weighing in at nearly four pounds above the limit for his weight class of his under-66 kilograms match against an Israeli opponent Ehud Vaks in the first round. It was claimed Miresmaeili had gone on an eating binge to protest the International Olympic Committee's recognition of the state of Israel. Iran does not recognise the state of Israel, and Miresmaeili's actions won praise from high-ranking Iranian officials. Mohammad Khatami, the country's President at the time, was quoted as saying Miresmaili's actions would be "recorded in the history of Iranian glories". He was later awarded $125,000 by the Government - the same amount given to Olympic gold medallists.

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